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TINTINNABULATIONThe ringing, or sound of, bells.From the Latin 'tintinnabulum' (meaning "bell"), which derives from 'ti...
29/09/2026

TINTINNABULATION

The ringing, or sound of, bells.

From the Latin 'tintinnabulum' (meaning "bell"), which derives from 'tintinnare' ("to ring or jingle"). It is an omatopoeic sound, because the root 'tintinnare' is a reduplicated form of 'tinnire' ("to ring").

The word is related to the name given to that irritating ringing in one's ears: tinnitus.

BAFFLEGABJargon, convoluted speech, gibberish, nonsense, confusing or unclear talk, or ovely fancy jargon as often used ...
23/08/2026

BAFFLEGAB

Jargon, convoluted speech, gibberish, nonsense, confusing or unclear talk, or ovely fancy jargon as often used by politicians and governments

From BAFFLE (to confuse) and GAB from Middle English "gabben" (to mock or lie) and Old Norse gabba" (to scoff).

A synonym one often hears nowadays is "word salad", exemplified by a number of US politicians in recent times.

BAFFLEGAB was coined by the American lawyer Milton A. Smith in January 1952 to describe tricky official rules.

KERFUFFLE -- Disorder, confusion, disarrayThe word comes from the 16th century Scottish verb "fuffle" (dishevel, muss, o...
07/08/2026

KERFUFFLE -- Disorder, confusion, disarray

The word comes from the 16th century Scottish verb "fuffle" (dishevel, muss, or ruffle), to which has been added the Scottish "car" or "cur" (to make a wrong or awkward turn) (late 1500s). The modern "ker-" could be a result of the pronunciation changing when "kerfuffle" became adopted into English in the 20th century, or it could be in analogy to the "ker-" in the onomatopoeaic "kerplunk".

02/08/2026

SPACE vs ROOM

T**TSPANGLEA British English derogatory term for a useless person, an idiot or the like.The word combines T**T (first re...
02/08/2026

T**TSPANGLE

A British English derogatory term for a useless person, an idiot or the like.

The word combines T**T (first recorded in 1656) = female genitalia with -SPANGLE = something shiny, ornamental, and therefore of no practical use.

The word is related to T**TWAFFLE, similar in meaning to "twatspangle, which combines T**T with WAFFLE, a slang term meaning to talk foolishly, idly, or nonsensically without making a clear point.

OCTOTHORPEThe word might be new to you, but you already know the thing it is a name for very well. It is indeed the sign...
30/07/2026

OCTOTHORPE

The word might be new to you, but you already know the thing it is a name for very well. It is indeed the sign that is called a hashtag, number sign or pound (the imperial weight, not the sterling £) sign.

But why "octothorpe"? The etymology is both clear and dubious: clear in that "octo-" comes from Latin and means "eight", while "thorpe" is from the Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse "ðorp" and means "town" (hence the Afrikaans and Dutch "dorp" and the German "Dorf").

"Octothorpe, the story goes, is a made-up word, supposedly made by technicians in the Bell laboratory. The "octo" supposedly refers to the eight points of the sign, and one theory is that someone thought the whole sign looks like a small town surrounded by eight fields, hence the "thorpe" part.

Whatever its origin, the word is one of those delighful items in the English vocabulary.

"autology" A word that describes itself. From the Greek "auto" (self) and "logos" (word).Examples: English - the word de...
27/07/2026

"autology"

A word that describes itself. From the Greek "auto" (self) and "logos" (word).

Examples:
English - the word describes the language it is in
short - the word itself is short
word - the word is a word
polysyllabic - the word has five syllables, making it polysyllabic
noun - the word is a noun

26/07/2026

Why can't the English...?

18/06/2026

What is the difference between "PRO-ject" and "pro-JECT"?

26/05/2026

5.25: Is it "five point twenty-five" or "five point two five"?
ALWAYS "point two five" .25 is a decimal fraction, not a number.

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